Buffy season nine discussion thread

I recently just reread Angel: After The Fall (inc Spike: ATF) and wow, does that seem about 50 times better than Season 9.
Apart from some of the slightly shoddy artwork in some of the middle issues (Nick Runge & Stephen Mooney, looking at you) that definitely actually felt like I was reading Angel. As opposed to Season 8 & 9 where I never really get that feeling.

It was also great how every issues flows into the next (really reminded me of Angel Season 4 that way) and that actually most of the story from #1 to #16 takes place over about 2 or 3 days in Hell-A. I'm pretty bored of Dark Horse's constant 4 issue arcs followed by a one shot, to ensure they all fit into their Trade Paperbacks.
It was also surprising how much actually happens in ATF, there's never a pointless filler issue, which at times it seems is what 90% of Season 9 has been made up of.

I recently caught up with some issues, Buffy 14, Spike 2 & 3, and A&F 15. I'm enjoying the Spike series; I just hope it goes somewhere. That A&F issue was cool, but they seriously need to kick the plot into gear now, do not give us another meandering pointless 4 issue arc.

And Billy the Vampire Slayer?? Why should I care? Seriously, because I do not one bit. Seems to me they've just done this to shut up all the gay fans they seem to have on the letters page of each issue (going through all Season 8) asking why aren't there any gay characters. I couldn't care less if a character is gay, straight or Australian, I just want a decent story. And I'm not getting one with this book.

Angel and Faith #16...wow. Where do I start? This was a HUGE issue. This book has picked up since the Quor'Toth arc. Everything that Gage has been building to pretty much unfolds in this issue. The Nadira arc with Faith is finally paid off and is combined with Angel's goal of resurrecting Giles, in a way that i didn't see coming at all! I'm very eager for next issue. This felt like a sweeps episode or mid-season finale the way it was written.

Finished Buffy Season Nine #16...and wow. For the first time since the start of the season I really enjoyed this issue. The Dawn and Xander stuff balanced the Buffy, Billy and Dowling Slaying stuff extremely well. This almost felt like an actual episode again, and the cliffhanger!!! This slides nicely into the Ilyria arc!

To my great surprise, this season isn't looking that horrible anymore. I really enjoyed the last two issues of Angel & Faith and the latest Spike (#4) and Willow #2 was pretty good, too. I thought that the season had hit the bottom with the awful Quor'Toth arc of Angel & Faith, and the boring and forced Billy arc in Buffy. The Spike title, which I had been cautiously optimistic about, had a really intelligently written latest issue which addressed Spike's character and his relationship with Buffy with some depth (which we hadn't seen in the main Buffy title with its "Spike is a vampire, Buffy needs normal" preoccupations). Angel & Faith has been a huge disappointment for me this season, but the last couple of issues (the Whistler one-shot and Death and Consequences #1) is more like the season I expected after reading the very good first issue.

A&F has so far been the best whenever it's focused on Whistler (who was such a minor character on BtVS the show and never even appeared on AtS) and the original characters (Nadira, Pearl and Nash), rather than on the many pointless and mostly OOC guest star appearances of various well known Buffyverse characters. Which is completely the opposite of what is happening in the Buffy title. But it's because these are the characters that have the strongest connection to Angel's season 8 actions and the Twilight plot, as the perpetrators or the victims. It's not surprising that the title is much better when it tries to address season 8 head-on than when it tries to sweep it aside or have everyone tell Angel how awesome he is and that he shouldn't feel guilty. (And maybe it's also due to the fact that Gage is just not that good at writing many of the well known characters in character. His writing of Dark Willow was particularly dreadful.)

The Willow series is looking better than I expected - the interactions between Willow and Marrack in #2 were pretty funny, I like seeing Aluwyn back since, like her or not, she has an interesting dynamic with Willow, and it certainly helps that Willow is really doing something related to the big plot of the season in her issue - even though I'm still annoyed and bored with the fact that they're making "bringing back magic" the big goal/theme of the season, without having actually established why it's so necessary to bring it back. (They may think they have, but it really hasn't been convincing to most of the readers, I believe.)

Now, I'm still waiting for the Buffy title to pick up and stop being so dull, shallow and lackluster.... and I'll say this, the latest issue was, for a change, not dull, something finally seems to be happening, and it's good to see Dawn and Xander back. I'd be excited for the arrival of you-know-who, if this hadn't been spoiled for months now. But the writing is still shallow and lackluster. The zompires are really poor villains with constantly changeable strength and don't seem nearly as threatening as we are supposed to think, Billy's ability to kill them en masse makes him a ridiculous Gary Stu (or makes the zompires look even more pathetic, if a skinny ordinary teenager with no training can kill so many of them without sweating), and are they really trying to set up a Buffy/Dowling romance (the dullest and most predictable plot point this season) while having almost all of the development in their relationship happen off-screen? It seems that they just think that Buffy + Generic Normal Human Dude who can slay things = Obvious Relationship, without having to bother to actually set up any dynamic. Which just shows that it's probably not meant to be a serious romance, but it is just really unexciting and shallow writing. I also don't believe that we're really meant to buy that Buffy has really found a new Scooby-Gang with Billy and Dowling (where's Cute Devon, anyway?), or if we are, they are really not selling it well.

I'm guessing that the new super-strong zomp is a zompified Slayer. They must have realized how pathetic zompires are so they are now adding a Super-Zomp to spice things up.

Angel and Faith #17: This book has picked up again big time in the last few issues as mentioned last issue and we're starting to see Gage's plots come to fruition. This is still the best of the two main Buffy books right now. Also, I'm not sure if we had touched on this before or not, but I had no idea that Giles's Aunts were modelled on Tony Head's own daughters. We are also starting to see elements from the "Ripper" television come back into play in this arc as well. Olivia Williams is mentioned again, I believe she was Giles love interest from "Tales of the Slayer" correct?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #17: While it wasn't as good as the last few issues have been, it was somewhat enjoyable and seeing this Council was interesting. Illyria was interesting, she being affected by the loss of magik in the world as well. The Dawn and Xander stuff was interesting, looks like Dawn has been infected with something that took the guise of a flu. I'm guessing this is the follow up from a couple of arcs ago. Kind of a slow start to the arc, but I'm sure things will pick up next issue.

Jeanty's art has been getting worse and worse, and this issue was dreadful. I really find it hard to take any of the characters or the story seriously, when characters look ridiculous when they're supposed to be angry, and creepy/foolish whenever they're supposed to show some other emotion, especially if they're smiling.

It doesn't help that the story is not so good, either. Buffy doesn't seem to have a brain this season, and Illyria, D'Hoffryn and others don't seem any better. Severin is a human who draws powers from supernatural beings but can be hurt with a gun, and instead of using a gun on him, they go against him with their superpowers?! What the what now?

Yeah this season has been really uneven and sloppy, and I agree with Jeantry's art. Say what you will about last season, but at least it was consistent and evenly paced. This season has been literally all over the place and disjointed at times.

Angel and Faith #18...I really loved this issue. After a few issues of pretty much mundane stuff...we've been back on track the last four or five, and this issue was a doozy. Major stuff is finally explained in this issue, Angel gives a proper explanation of why he believed he could restore Giles. We have our season big bad...and oh boy...the final page...Spike's back!!!

I really am still buying out of loyalty to the brand. I keep buying, but have a growing stack of Buffy (and A&F and Willow) comics to read. I know I will marathon read them eventually, and probably even enjoy them, but can't get into them individually.

I'm going to stick out the season, but right now, continuing into S10 is iffy for me.

Finished reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer #18 and...I have to say that this entire season has been incredibly erratic and it's suffered because of it. I know we've made this point before but it's still seems unfocused, even though there have been obvious seedings throughout the season. Last season might have been over the top and ridiculous at times, but at least it was consistent from start to finish. This has felt badly paced. It reminds me of Grant Morrison's current Action Comics run to be honest. Unlike that though, I've not felt compelled to drop that, like I have this. Angel and Faith has gotten back on track, but Buffy still feels...off to me.

That being said let's get to the book. Dawn appears to be dying of unknown causes...and the only temporary solution right now is for Andrew to do a brain transplant into a Dawn-bot? I don't like the way this particular plot is going right now. I have a bad feeling about it lol. The "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" homage was fun! Unfortunately that's about the only fun we have in this book. I'm not really invested in this Siphon arc at all. I feel like I'm on the verge of dropping this again...

Angel and Faith #19: This was one hell of an issue. All the "Ripper" stuff in this book is making me wish that we got the series even more, because most of what the book is using is only a tease of what the greater plans for the series would have been. The only thing I didn't like in this issue was the way Gage wrote Spike. A little off for me, even though there were a couple of great moments with him and Faith. So now we're basically back to square one again and things have gotten potentially worse thanks to Angel's hair brained scheme. As I expected, he's put himself at risk and the others now potentially releasing Angelus again. I think also Spike hit it on the nail with the Buffy line. Angel keeps insisting that it is to do with taking responsibility for his actions with Giles, but really if he wanted to do that he would man up, apologize to Buffy and hope she gave forgive him. Instead he refuses to do this and has undertaken a foolhardy and dangerous plot to resurrect Giles that has not quite worked out at all.

Interesting to see where this continues to go. The art was stunning in this issue.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #19 : Just when I'm about to drop this book, they do something to make me keep it. Major plot progression for once in this book, as we finally are told what is happening to Dawn. Because Dawn is the Key and was made as a magical construct, and Buffy destroyed the Seed last season to save the world, the magic basically was leaving her. Same thing with Dev stole Ilyria's power, she realizes that she should be dead given that Fred died to host her in the first place, but she's still around. So not only is magic gone from the world, or severely depleted, but something is wrong with it as well. Buffy and Xander have yet another fight (that seems to be the only thing that they do in this book). I really want to drop this book (like some of you guys must've done already) but like I mentioned they keep doing stuff to at least make me interested. Maybe this has something to do with Chambliss's writing...the guest writers last season and Joss's presence I think helped break things up...something has been off about this season.